Rewrite The Stars
by HalfBloodPrincess95
Summary: Dean wasn't too happy about being the new kid in the neighbourhood when his parents up and left Kansas to move to California but luckily for him, he met Castiel- his eccentric new best friend/neighbour. But as the years go by, Dean feels the increasing pressure of wanting to fit in which leads to him hosting his 15th birthday party and this sets of a strange set of circumstances.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Okay so this is my first Destiel fic which is based on my most favourite movie: 13 Going on 30… I really hope that you all enjoy it as it's been a really long time since I've written anything. It's also not Beta'd so all mistakes are mine._

 _Please let me know what you think at the end as comments fuel my confidence and I love hearing back from people who enjoy my writing! xoxo_

* * *

"Sammy, get the door for me will you."

There was the sound of feet hurrying along the wooden floor before Deans' bedroom door burst open and Sam poked his head inside before asking, "Are you letting me come to your party tonight?"

Dean sighed as he threw his handful of shirts onto his bed, "I told you Sammy, all the popular kids are gonna be here and I can't have my little brother running around," he ruffled up the mop that Sam calls hair as he walked past him, "I'll get the door myself."

By the time Dean made it downstairs, his mom was already ushering his neighbour, Cas, in with a pretty large box in his hands.

"Did we have a project I forgot about or something?" asked Dean as he took the box from Cas.

Mary beamed at Dean from behind Cas, causing him to look at his mom questioningly.

"It's your birthday gift Dean," answered Cas, "so happy birthday!"

Deans' eyebrows shot up, "Thanks," he said offhandedly and then he made grabby hands at the box, "What is it?"

Mary chipped in, " _It_ can wait until later because you boys are about to be late to school." She walked over to Dean and hugged him close, placing a kiss on his forehead, "Happy 15th birthday my young man."

"Mom!" Dean made a show of protesting his moms' affection but he remained glued to her side.

So I've packed a special lunch for you since you're too late for breakfast," said Mary as she handed Dean his school bag, "Do you two want a lift?"

"Can I drive the Impala?"

"No!" said Mary and Cas at the same time.

Dean placed a hand over his heart as if he was deeply hurt, "I am an excellent driver and besides, it's my birthday. If I have to go to school today, I should at least be able to do it in style."

Cas huffed out a laugh, "Well we can be fashionably late."

"Ugh," Dean rolled his eyes, "You're such a dork, you know that right?" Then to his mom he said, "Thanks for the offer mom but we'll catch the bus instead. Love you, see you later."

"Bye boys, have a good day," said Mary in response as she watched them leave side by side.

"Bye Mrs. Winchester," came Castiels' voice before he turned on Dean. "Your mom could have gotten us there faster. What if we missed the bus?"

Dean slung an arm around his best friends' shoulders, "You worry too much Cas."

Xxx

They managed to enter the classroom just as their teacher walked in.

"See," said Dean as he beamed at Cas, "right on time."

Cas sighed as he took his seat at the front of the class with Dean sitting directly behind him.

"Okay class, settle down," came Miss McLeods' voice. "You all know that it's picture day today," Dean snickered as Cas dropped his head into his hands, "so throughout the day each class will be called into the gymnasium to get their photo taken. Please be prompt and," here she looked exasperatedly at Cas, "-run a brush through your hair if the need arises."

They did their roll call and then the students dispersed for the days classes.

Dean clapped Cas on his shoulder as they exited, "How do you always manage to forget when it's picture day?"

Cas groaned, "Well you could have reminded me."

"You look great Cas," said boy glared at Dean, "I'm serious! You just need to have more confidence in yourself, flash that gummy smile and let the light reflect off of those baby blues and-"

"Hey freak-a-zoid."

Cas narrowed his eyes as both he and Dean turned around to look at Mick.

"Dammit Davies," said Dean in a harsh tone, "I told you not to call him that."

Mick flashed Dean a rather put upon smile, "And we've told you that hanging out with _him_ is just gonna ruin your reputation around here. Besides, you know Alastair was kicked off the football team recently and we're looking for a replacement so you didn't hear this from me but a word in from yours truly wouldn't hurt if you wanna get taken seriously in try-outs next week but then again," he dragged his eyes over Cas' defensive form, "you're not gonna win any favours with this freak dragging you down."

"Hah," huffed Cas, getting both the boys' attention, "Yeah and then when Dean is on the team they'll get to see that he's way better than you and then maybe you can join Alastair on the bleachers for every game."

Mick took a step closer causing Dean to step between them, "How dare you speak to me," he looked at Dean, "how dare he even speak to me that-"

"Whoa look," intervened Dean, "let's just take it down a notch okay. Cas- Cas, come on man…"

Cas had already turned around and started walking away, "I'll see you in English Dean."

"Ah, looks like he wants you to run after him and give him an 'I'm Sorry' kiss."

"Why do you have to be like that to him, he's my friend."

Mick patted Dean on his shoulder, "You really are an oblivious sod aren't you? That little nerd has had the hots for you since you set foot in this school. Why you still entertain him and continue to get his hopes up are beyond me…"

Dean was about to say that Cas wasn't like that and that they were just best friends when the "Six Chicks" stopped beside them.

"Hey Mick," said Lisa, the lead of the group, "Nice to see you around Dean."

At that precise moment, Dean was tongue-tied and he internally cursed himself for it because he had so much that he wanted to say to Lisa- she'd been his crush since he'd laid eyes on her on his first day at Marshall Secondary School- but it seemed best to leave the talking the Mick at the moment since he sounded less likely to embarrass himself.

"Oh hey Lisa, are you still coming to practise today?"

"You'll give me a ride home after," asked Lisa as she ran a hand down Micks' arm.

Mick smirked at her causing her friends to giggle with glee, "Sure thing darling."

Dean watched the exchange with narrowed eyes. Mick knew that Dean liked Lisa, hells, that's what his party tonight was for anyways- Mick had told him that tonight was the night and he had a plan to get Dean a few minutes alone with Lisa.

So Dean couldn't understand why it looked like Mick was getting a bit too familiar with her and so lost in his thoughts, he almost missed Lisa saying bye to him- not that he managed to get anything resembling actual words out of his mouth anyway.

Dean got all up in Micks' face, "What was that? You said that you'd help me with Lisa not get touchy-feely with her- that doesn't help me."

For all Deans' outrage, Mick just bodily laughed it off until Dean felt even more stupid than when Lisa had been standing with them.

Finally Mick got himself under control, "Calm down tiger and stash the jealousy for when she's actually your girl. I told you that I'd get you time with her and I've made good on my promise. You've been nagging me for weeks to get her to come to your party and now she's agreed."

Deans' eyes widened at that, "Lisa's coming to my party tonight?"

"Lisa would like to come to your party tonight," corrected Mick, "but we've also got a science paper to turn in for Monday- supposed to be some extensive research that we were all going to get together for so I guess that means we all can't make it tonight."

Deans' mind was buzzing with thoughts so he said the first thing that popped into his head, "I'll do it for you guys."

Mick smiled, "Ah, good man… then I guess we'll see you later today."

And with that, Mick walked off- his cronies who Dean didn't even notice were hanging off to the sides near the lockers, gave him one last look before following Mick to their class.

Xxx

Cas hated picture day.

He always managed to screw his photo up in some way and ended up with a pained expression every single year in the yearbook.

He was good on the other side of the camera, he liked taking pictures of nature and old buildings and he also really liked taking pictures of Dean.

Dean was one of the most photogenic people he'd ever seen and that wasn't because he knew how to strike a pose- well he definitely knew that as well- but it was mostly because of all the off-guard pictures that he'd taken of the other boy.

Pictures of the way Deans' nose would scrunch up when he laughed, others where Deans' green eyes widened in shock as a camera went off unexpectedly in his face or the ones where Dean would spend an entire day out in the sun and then Cas would snap a few photos of the way his freckles stood out much more on his sun-kissed skin.

He definitely wasn't meant to be on this particular side of the camera where all of his imperfections could be captured.

Of course, Dean always got mad at him when he said that- or anything self-derogatory really but then again Dean was an amazing human being and his best friend so he just took the compliments if only to please his friend.

A small part of Cas hoped that this years' photo might at least be normal but he knew all chances flew out the window when the 'Six Chicks' walked in.

Hannah, Eve, April, Lilith, Ruby and their leader Lisa Braeden made up the 'Six Chicks' and while Castiel felt nothing in particular towards them, he still felt bad that they named themselves that because in the history of all clique names, that had to be the most embarrassing.

He focussed his attention on the camera but then a voice reached him- sounding much like Ruby- and when he looked, she reeled back as if to throw something at him and his face scrunched up just as the camera flash went off which incited laughter from most of the occupants of the room.

Cas just rolled his eyes and left the room without sparing anyone a second glance.

He bumped into Dean at his locker, "Hey, so how did it go?"

Cas shook his head, "The pictures? The way they always go Dean."

Dean leaned a shoulder against a locker so he could look at Cas while the other packed away his books, "You're not mad at me about this morning, are you?"

Cas stopped his movements and looked at Dean, "Do you mean about what Mick said?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I mean I didn't do much to defend you and-"

He was interrupted by Cas, "You do enough to defend me from those bullies Dean, besides, you can't defend me forever so I just don't let them get to me that much anymore."

"I'll never leave you Cas, you're my best friend," said Dean sincerely.

Cas smiled at Dean as he pulled out his camera from his locker and snapped a picture of Dean, "I thought you don't like chick flick moments."

Dean sighed as he headed for the doors, "I hate when you do that and no, I don't but I was just saying…"

Cas caught up with Dean and gave his arm a quick squeeze, "Well then thank you for saying it." He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "What did Mick want this morning anyway?"

Dean got on the bus and took a seat, "Well I don't think you're gonna be very happy about it."

"Come on Dean, spill it."

"Well they're coming to my party tonight but now I've got a whole lot of work to do before they even arrive," Dean grimaced at that and Cas realized that Dean was talking about more than just party preparations.

"What do you have to do?"

"Well Lisa and the others had a science paper to do and-"

"Oh no, Dean," exclaimed Cas, loud enough for some of the students to turn and look at them. Cas lowered his voice slightly when he spoke again, "tell me you didn't offer to do their homework for them."

Dean looked out the window, avoiding his friends' gaze, "They wouldn't have been able to come to the party tonight if I hadn't offered."

"Dean, you suck at science," he got a glare for that, "And besides, I don't know why you're so hung up on pleasing them."

"They're my friends."

"They're not your friends, Dean. Besides, you can't be friends with me and also expect to be popular. They've been keeping you on a string all these years and allowing you to feel like you stood a chance but the truth of the matter is that they know that you like Lisa and they're playing that to their advantage like they've been doing ever since you got here."

"Look Cas," said Dean seriously, "I know that you don't like them and that Mick is a total bag of dicks to you but Lisa isn't like that and I really like her. He's just helping me to get a chance to talk to her, after that I promise not to entertain his company."

"Have you ever stopped to think about why he's helping you?" asked Cas, "The entire school talks about how he and Lisa hook-up and break-up time and time again. If he and Lisa are a thing, why would he be helping you to get with her?"

Dean looked exasperated, "That's because they aren't a thing! Mick told me that himself and I mean popular people get caught up in rumours all the time. That's just how life works."

"Popular people," scoffed Cas, "Well now you're trying to be one of them and it's gonna end in a mess because you're too good for them Dean."

All that greeted Cas' statement was silence and that's how the rest of the bus ride home was.

Xxx

Even their walk home was in silence but as they reached their houses to go their separate ways, both Dean and Cas spoke at the same time.

"Do you want-"

"You'll still-"

They stared at each other for a beat before bursting out in laughter. Once they'd recovered, Dean said, "You first."

Cas smiled at him and dug around in his pocket before pulling out a bag of candy, "Razzles?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "Razzles are for babies." But he still stuck his hand out and took the offering anyway.

"What were you gonna say before?" asked Cas.

"Oh uh yeah, I was gonna ask if you're still gonna come around later?"

Cas gave Dean a gummy smile, "Of course, I want to see your reaction when you open my gift anyway."

Dean groaned, "Oh no, I can't open it now?"

"No, be patient. It's worth it, I promise."

Dean beamed at Cas, "Fine, see you later then dork."

Cas snapped another picture of Dean as he walked towards his front door causing Dean to turn around and mock glare, "I heard that shutter go off."

Cas' laughter filled the late afternoon air.

Xxx

Cas stood outside Deans' front door and he was almost bouncing with nervous energy.

He'd given Dean plenty of gifts before, both on his birthdays and also some on random days when the thought strikes but this one was different somehow, more meaningful in a way and Cas felt like somehow he'd be making both him and Dean more vulnerable in a way by gifting him this present.

Cas rang the doorbell and John Winchester opened the door.

"Hey there son, come on in. Dean is just downstairs in the basement; apparently his mom, me and Sam aren't allowed down there tonight."

Cas laughed at Deans' antics as he greeted Mr Winchester and entered the house. He noticed that the box he'd brought earlier had been moved and he hoped that Dean hadn't opened it without him.

It seemed like a close one by the time Cas had got down to the basement because Dean was sitting on his knees on the floor staring at the box like he was trying to look through the cardboard.

"Hey Cas," said Dean when he noticed him at the door, "Come here, we've gotta open this man."

Cas chuckled as he sat down next to Dean, "Okay, go for it."

Dean wasted no time as he tore off the fastenings holding the lid in place and then sunk both his hands into the box to pull out a smaller box of what seemed like loose parts. He looked at Cas questioningly and just got "Put that down, we'll look at it later."

So Dean set the smaller box aside, reached into the box again and this time pulled out a thing of beauty. One glance at it and he knew it was a 1967 Ford Mustang- Collector's Edition Classic.

He looked at Cas with wide eyes and then back at the car, he was sure, with heart eyes.

"Where- How did you even- Thank you Cas but this is, it's too much, I mean how did you even land this beauty?"

Cas beamed at Dean, he was satisfied with Deans' state of speechlessness because that meant that Dean was well and truly amazed by his gift.

"I saved up for it in advance to surprise you and looks like it worked."

"I really don't know what to say besides thank you Cas. And you probably used up all your savings on this and I don't deserve you at all…" he trailed off and his eyes rested on the smaller box that he'd unpacked first.

Cas noticed his gaze, "So it isn't any old collector's item. You can actually take the entire car apart and reassemble it again, that's what the other box is for- it's full of tools and extra parts and yes I know that it's all super tiny and-" Cas trailed off and all of a sudden he felt really embarrassed for being this excited about his gift for Dean, "It's also really stupid… I'm sorry Dean. I just thought that maybe it wouldn't seem so childish-"

'Hey, hey," said Dean as he scooted closer to Cas on the floor, "I love it and it's really special because apart from my family, you're the only one who knows the real me. You're the only one who knows how badly I wanna work with cars, how much I crave the sound of an engine roaring to life after hours of toiling through grease and machinery… You're also the only one who knows that I can't have that because my dad wants his sons to have 'real jobs' by slaving over books and getting a desk job."

Dean looked slightly lost, like he'd started out convincing Cas and ended up reminiscing about the life he'd once thought he was going lead but then he caught himself and smiled at Cas, "So no, this isn't childish. This shows me that you listen to me and you care about what I like and I don't deserve you Cas. So here's the thing, even though it's not a real car, how about we sit down and tear this baby apart later, and then I'll show you how to put her back together."

Cas nudged Dean where their shoulders rested against one another and he felt slightly better about it all, "Happy birthday, Dean."

Dean leaned into Cas' side as he beamed but then the sound of the doorbell ringing made Dean jump to his feet, realizing that his guests had arrived.

Dean tossed the smaller box to Cas and picked up the Mustang, "I'm gonna leave these in here so no one gets hold of it okay," and he proceeded to shove both the car and the box of parts on the highest shelf in the walk in closet.

He stepped out and Cas handed him a stack of papers, "This is the science homework that you promised them because I know that you tried and failed already."

Dean was gaping like a fish and Cas rolled his eyes as he walked up the stairs, "I'm not staying, I'll come back later when they leave."

"But Cas, come on, it's my birthday party…"

"Dean, they don't like me and I don't feel anything positive towards them so I think it's in everyone's interest that I leave."

"I couldn't agree more with that," came the voice of Mick Davies from the top of the staircase.

"See you later Dean," said Cas as he pushed past the sudden crowd of both Micks' gang and Lisas' 'Six Chicks'.

Xxx

Dean stood off to one side as he watched his 'guests' eat the snacks and talk amongst themselves, it was like he wasn't even there and when the hell was Mick gonna give him the okay to go talk to Lisa.

He waited a few more minutes but no one paid him any attention at his own party so he decided to take it into his own hands and he approached Lisa, or almost approached her because suddenly Mick was in his way.

"Hey Dean, where are you going?" asked Mick in an overly cheerful voice.

"Uhm, I was gonna talk to Lisa."

"Yeah, about that," said Mick as he wrapped an arm around Deans' shoulders and led him to the closet, "I thought we could play a little game to build up to that special moment you've been waiting for."

Deans' eyebrows shot up, "A game?"

"Yeah, ever heard of seven minutes in heaven?"

Dean jumped as one of the girls, Hannah if he remembered her name correctly, used her scarf to blindfold him, "That the one where I get to be alone with Lisa in a closet for 7 minutes?"

Mick guided Dean into the closet, "Yeah, I hear she's quite enthusiastic about the whole thing. Now just wait in here, she'll be right through." Before Mick closed the door, he asked, "You remembered the science paper for us, didn't you?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, it's on the table."

Mick smirked over his shoulder at the others, "Okay good, now you just sit tight okay."

There was the noise of the door clicking shut and then silence.

Xxx

Castiel had been reading to pass his time when he spotted Deans' favourite CD lying on his desk. His first thought was that Dean would probably want to play it at his party and so he picked it up and decided to take it over.

As he walked over to Deans' place, he contemplated when exactly everything had changed.

He had to pinpoint that moment to their first day at school 3 years ago.

That summer beforehand had been one of the best of his life.

 _The Winchesters had just moved into the house next to his and for the first time in a long time, Castiel actually had a friend._

 _They had been sitting side by side on the porch overlooking the front lawn on the night they'd first met when Castiel had said, "Dean… I know that you're just being nice to me so I'm gonna let you off the hook here."_

 _Deans' eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "What have I done?"_

 _Cas sighed, "You don't need to really be friends with me."_

" _Oh," Dean contemplated the statement for a while, "You don't wanna be my friend or something? 'Cause I mean, ouch, but I get it if you don't wanna."_

 _Cas turned slightly to look at Dean, "It's not that I don't want to; but you're the new kid and popularity really does go a long way here. You're not gonna get any of that by hanging out with me."_

 _Dean huffed out a laugh but sobered quickly when he realised that Cas thought he was laughing at him, "Man, my parents up and left the only place I've ever called home and moved us here where I know nobody and have no friends. I didn't wanna be the loner new kid and so let me just tell you, popularity is the last thing on my mind when all I really wanted was a sincere friend."_

They'd been okay after that. Castiel had accepted that he could allow himself a friend and Dean just good-naturedly laughed at all of Castiels' awkwardness.

But then first day arrived, Dean landed eyes on Lisa Braeden and suddenly Dean was on a mission to get noticed.

Castiel sighed because Dean was a good guy and he deserved so much better than the misguided 'acts of good' he got caught up in.

He was startled out of his musings by Sam who let him in and then tried to convince him to take him downstairs so he could join the party but as much as Cas loved Sam, he knew that Dean was hung up on making sure this party was perfect and by that, he meant not having his baby brother in attendance.

Cas was startled to see that as he was making his way down the stairs, all of Deans' guests seemed to be leaving and Dean wasn't anywhere in sight.

"What happened? Where's Dean?" asked Castiel in slight panic.

Lisa was the one to lean over and speak in a whisper, "Oh he's waiting in the closet for you."

And then there was the sound of muffled giggling as they tried to be as quiet as possible before leaving.

Something about this didn't sit right with Castiel. Why would Dean be waiting for him in a closet of all places?

He approached the closet door and when he opened it, he spotted Dean standing there with a blindfold and a smile on his face.

"I thought you weren't going to come," said Dean.

Cas was stunned into silence as Dean reached out a hand and his only reaction was to close the distance and take Deans' hand in his.

Deans' thumb ran over Cas' knuckles a few times before he tilted his head. He used his other hand to run up Cas' free arm and Cas could see the gears shifting in Deans' mind and he realised that Dean was hoping against hope when he called out, "Lisa?"

Cas dropped Deans' hand from his own and stepped back slightly, "Dean, no, it's-"

Dean ripped off the blindfold and stared at Cas in disbelief.

"Cas? What are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm- Dean, why were you waiting for Lisa?"

Suddenly Dean looked over Cas' shoulder and pushed past him, "Where did everyone go? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! They just left," protested Cas, too shocked to even acknowledge his underlying irritation at Dean.

"Why would they just leave?" asked Dean as he turned to face Cas again. There was silence as Dean rubbed at his forehead while muttering about losing his one good chance with Lisa and then he suddenly stopped and looked at Cas with wide eyes. "Mick was right wasn't he? You're in love with me and that's why you chased them away by being- by being…"

Cas couldn't even find the words to express how he felt at Deans' accusation, "Dean, I-"

Dean stepped back into the closet then turned to look at Cas, "Get out. Get out Castiel… I don't wanna see you again."

Then Dean shut the door, locked it from inside for good measure and then sunk down to the floor, back against the shelves.

"Fuck, fuck… How is this my life?" he whispered to himself. "I just want a normal life, a happy life. I just want to grow up and be done with all this teenage bullshit… I want Lisa and I want to work with cars and I wanna be older…"

He didn't realise it but he had started to rock back against the shelves, hitting his back forcefully until things on the shelf started to rattle. He felt tears prickle in his eyes and so he shut them, hugging his knees to his chest and bowing his head.

There was so much of noise and he wasn't even paying attention that it was impossible to notice when the Mustang that Cas had gifted him started to roll precariously towards the edge until it finally slipped and fell straight onto Deans' head. His head shot up on the impact and sudden pain before his vision went blurry and then all that welcomed him was darkness.

Xxx

The sound of water as well as the light shining on his face, slowly brought Dean to consciousness.

He cracked open an eye and promptly fell out of bed with a thud.

"Dean, are you okay?"

Deans' eyes widened as he got to his feet. That was the sound of a womans' voice and it most certainly wasn't his moms'. This place he was in was also most certainly not his parents' house.

What the hell had happened? He was so gonna be grounded for this.

He tried to move stealthily through what looked like a really expensive apartment as he approached the bathroom door but he stopped in his tracks in front of a mirror when he caught his reflection.

Well, that wasn't him but that was the only person reflected on the mirror.

He ran a hand over his face, felt the prickly stubble that formed there. His hands moved lower over a toned chest and even lower onto sculpted abs.

He looked back up into the eyes of his reflection- same green eyes and if he looked closely, he could kinda still see familiar features but it just looked like he was older. How was that possible when he had just had his 15th birthday yesterday?

He turned around while watching his reflection, tried to look at his back. Picked a leg up and watched as the 'mirror man' copied. He'd eventually resorted to patting his head and running circles on his tummy when the bathroom door opened fully and a lady wrapped in just a towel walked out.

"Dean, honey… are you still drunk from last night? How much did you drink anyway?"

Deans' mouth opened and closed like a landed fish.

The stranger looked at him funny before dropping her towel and strutting fully nude to sit down on the bed, "Never mind, come here babe. I'll make you feel better."

Dean stared pointedly at the wall as he felt around for the towel as threw it at the woman.

"Look lady, whoever you are… where am I and what's going on?"

Dean was trying not to panic but then the stranger said, "Dean, you honestly can't recognise me?"

Dean shook his head frantically as Lisa approached him, "Fine, I'll bite… whatever game you're playing. Looks like I need to remind you of the feisty fiancé you've got- 'cause no one forgets Lisa Braeden, not even an absolute hunk like you, Winchester."

Lisa turned around to lead Dean to the bed but he bolted- at least he had the good sense to grab a robe as he exited the apartment.

 **Please Review**


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Hi everyone! I know it's been a while and I'm sorry for the lag in updates but I've been unbelievably busy._

 _I'm glad that the first chapter piqued some interest and I really hope that you all enjoy this new chapter._

 _Thank you for reading and please leave me reviews/comments- I love hearing what you all think xoxo_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own anything here. I'm just making references to characters and companies that are not mine but happen to fit in with my plot!_

* * *

Dean made a hasty exit out of the lavish apartment building while pulling on his robe and bumped right into a man in an expensive looking suit.

"Shit, sorry man," Dean apologized as he looked over his shoulder making sure 'not Lisa' didn't decide to follow him.

A very familiar voice reached his ears as the stranger said, "Dean, what the hell man?"

"You know me?" asked Dean just as a voice sounded from the building above, "Dean, at least get changed."

It was the naked 'not Lisa' sticking her head out the window.

The stranger beside Dean gave an exaggerated sigh.

"We're about to be late to go clinch the deal of a century and you're still in your underwear," the stranger pinched the bridge of his nose as he regarded Dean, "Okay Dean, Plan B- we head to your office first, thank God for that spare suit and if you hurry enough we might only be 10 minutes late."

"We had a plan A?" Dean paused and then, "who are you?"

There was another sigh and then the man looked up and said loud enough for his voice to carry, "It's okay, I've got him Lisa."

Before Dean could ask any more questions, the mans' phone rang and then Dean was being ushered into a taxi.

The man got in through the door on the other side just as he answered his phone, "Davies speaking, hello."

Deans' eyes widened as he regarded the man- as he regarded Mick. Now that he looked closely, he could see some familiarity just like he saw in his reflection earlier and thinking about it, even 'not Lisa', who was probably just Lisa, looked like an older version of the 15 year old he saw yesterday.

He's supposed to be 15.

Mick ended his conversation- which Dean managed to block out entirely through his musings- with a "Yes, we'll be there in 15."

"You're Mick Davies?" asked Dean uncertainly.

Mick flashed him a smile that was painfully familiar, "The one and only baby- and you and I are about to sign the deal of a lifetime. Just you wait, we'll be sipping champagne in victory in only a few hours."

"And what is it that we do?" asked Dean, knowing that he was going to now sound even more ridiculous to the other man.

Mick narrowed his eyes at him, "How hung over are you? And what's going on with you and Lisa? The poor lady looked frantic just now."

Dean sank back into the seat trying to make sense of what seemed to be his life, "Yeah, she was naked in my apartment- that is my apartment isn't it?"

Mick ran a hand over his face, "Look, I don't mind playing along to whatever you're up to but when we get into that meeting you need to be on your A-Game. And yeah mate, she is your fiancé after all, who elses apartment would you expect her to be naked in?"

"Okay this is too weird," Dean muttered to himself before he pinched himself on the arm, "OW, okay this is real."

"You're also going to down at least one mug of black coffee before you get in front of the others," instructed Mick in exasperation.

Xxx

Dean apparently worked for a magazine called _Redefine_ (one he was familiar with from his monthly subscription to their 'motor head madness as Sammy called it) - because that was the building that he was being dragged into. They were moving quick, straight into an elevator and then out onto a floor with a reception desk and waiting area.

The lady at the desk greeted them cheerfully but Mick ignored her entirely as he walked directly to a large door and swung it open, "Get in here Dean, we needed to be at that meeting 5 minutes ago."

Dean walked in and immediately had to stop in his tracks, "This is my office? Am I editor or something?"

The office wasn't the biggest room ever but man was it decked out.

A large wooden desk sat before him but that wasn't what caught his attention. Behind that desk was a floor to ceiling window that overlooked the city.

He tore his gaze away and looked around the office, there was a large bookcase to his left, a few plants scattered around the office as well as a few armchairs to his right.

While he'd been getting his fill of the office, Mick had been apparently fixing him a cup of coffee at his very own coffee station- which he had now.

The mug was shoved into his hands as Mick opened a cupboard to the right and pulled out a suit, "No way; that would be over both Chuck Shurleys' and my dead body, although you did seem to get the office with the better- well everything. But that's enough gloating. Get this on," he laid the suit over the back of one of the armchairs, "drink that," he gestured to the mug of coffee, "and meet me outside in 2 minutes."

He didn't wait for a response, instead walking out and shutting the door behind him.

Dean was still frozen to the spot, glancing around the room and wondering how this was even possible.

"90 seconds, Winchester," came through the door.

That spurred Dean into action. He spared a thought for the fact that an office like this must have a restroom of its own but he just didn't have the time so he stripped down right where he was and changed into the suit.

"Huh, perfect fit," he marvelled at that fact as he downed his coffee while making his way out.

"Took you long enough," grumbled Mick as he once again led them to the elevators.

They exited on a floor which looked like it existed solely to house more boardrooms than was strictly necessary. Mick led him to what looked like the largest and also already full of people.

They entered and suddenly it was all eyes on them.

"Ah, finally gentlemen. We almost thought you wouldn't make it."

Dean followed Mick towards the man who had spoken. He was shorter than them but he radiated power in some weird way. Dean figured he might be their boss.

Suddenly Mick took the almost empty mug from Deans' hands, just as the shorter man said, "Well Dean, the floor is all yours."

The man gave Dean a kind, encouraging pat on the shoulder as both he and Mick moved to take their seats but that did nothing to instil any confidence in him as he took in the close to twenty people in the room who all looked at him expectantly.

He looked at Mick in desperation, silently pleading for the other man to help him.

Mick suddenly stood up and handed Dean a hard drive, "Set this up, will you," he whispered before turning to their audience.

"So while Dean is setting up _his presentation_ ," here he pointedly looked at Dean, "I thought I'd just inform you all of how intricately thought out this entire concept was. Dean spent endless hours in both design and detail that it's bound to be a hit!"

The screen lit up with various different Chevy models through the years and Dean stared first at the screen and then at Mick with disbelieving eyes.

"So without further ado," continued Mick, completely ignoring Dean, "I hand this over to Dean Winchester to bring to you his work of art, The 100th Anniversary of Chevrolet."

Xxx

This was a disaster.

It was more than a disaster because whatever this was, whatever world he was suddenly in- it didn't look like he was escaping anytime soon and if he fucked up this presentation, he might very well be fired. He already hated being an adult.

The man who he thought was his boss looked at him and gestured for him to go on while there was a cough of impatience from a man sitting right at the front of the group.

Dean returned his gaze to the slides on the laptop before him. Maybe he could just read off the slides.

He skipped a few slides and noticed that there was minimal writing on them, just lots of pictures that seemed to be breaking a concept down but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what the concept was.

This was Chevrolet, no surprise since the magazine featured the manufacturer quite often but what was the angle here because this seemed to be more than about just featuring a new car of theirs.

A voice startled him out of his thoughts, "Mr Shurley, are you sure that Mr Winchester here is prepared for this presentation?"

It was the man that had coughed impatiently earlier and Mr Shurley- Dean was right, he was their boss then- stood to address him, "We went over this yesterday, I'm not sure what's gotten into Dean today."

Mick chipped in, "If you will, I could step in and present on Deans' behalf; he hasn't been feeling well all morning and I'm familiar with the concept."

Dean stood and watched the exchange silently. He knew that this couldn't be his fault, he was thrown into this situation unwillingly, but he couldn't fight off the embarrassment that coursed through him at his failure.

The man that had spoken first then said, "Well it appears it would be too late for any of that anyway," he dug around in a briefcase before throwing a magazine onto the desk, "Look what I happened upon on the newsstand this morning."

Mr Shurley picked up the magazine and a look of resignation settled on his face, "This is your concept Dean."

Mick snatched up the magazine and scanned through it, "Unbelievable! Everything-" he slammed it down on the table, "Hours of hard work only for _The Sound of Speed_ to get the jump on us."

"I don't understand-" started Dean.

"Look boys, I'm on your side here-" the man who presented them the magazine said, "Hell I'm supposed to financing this little venture to get _Redefined_ back on top again but I can't sit back and watch them one-up you guys month after month." He paced for a while, "This was supposed to be next months' issue and they even got the jump on us this time!" He motioned to Mr Shurley, "Chuck, we need to speak."

Mr Shurley- Chuck nodded and dismissed the meeting, giving Dean and Mick a shake of the head before leaving the boardroom.

Dean turned to Mick, ready to ask what the hell had just happened when Mick blurted out, "I can't deal with this shit right now."

And then he left Dean standing all alone.

Xxx

Dean managed to get back to 'his office' without any problems thankfully and then proceeded to sink down onto his desk chair, head in his hands.

What the hell was happening?

He spared a thought for the fact that Cas would know what to do and then it hit him- where the hell was Cas?

He patted his pockets for a cell phone but then realised he'd left the house in his robe which was the next thing he searched but came up short as well- he didn't actually think he'd find it there anyway.

His eyes landed on the computer at his desk and he was just about to go search for Castiels' number when the lady from reception knocked and poked her head into the office.

"Sorry Mr Winchester, but Mr Shurley wants you in his office ASAP."

Dean nodded and an idea occurred to him as he watched her leave again.

He rushed out of the office in her wake, "Hey-" he didn't know her name and it was going to be a real dick move to ask for it but thankfully he noticed she wore a nametag, "Hey uh- Arlene, can you do me a favour please?"

It worried Dean that she looked taken aback by him speaking to her.

"Yes, sure Mr Winchester."

"Do you have a pen and paper?" Once she handed it to him he scrawled out 'Castiel Novak' and the address of his home before handing the page back to her. "Could you find me a contact number for Cas? I- Something- I just really need him."

She nodded frantically and already began typing on her keyboard before she paused and looked nervous.

He lifted his eyebrows in a silent question.

"I know you asked me not to bother you with these things but your mom called and she said that they were going to be at Sams' for the weekend, you know, just in case you decide to call or go over."

Dean frowned, "I asked you not to _bother_ _me_ with calls from my parents?"

Arlene was about to reply when the phone rang. She answered and looked panicked for a moment, "Yes, I did tell him… No sir… I'm sure he'll be there right now Mr Shurley."

He smiled sheepishly at her as she ended the call, "Sorry Arlene," he said as he walked backwards towards the elevators, "I'll let him know that it was my fault being late. Thank you and don't forget about Cas, okay? Also where is Chucks' office again?"

Xxx

He swallowed down his nervousness as he knocked on Chucks' door.

"You wanted to see me, Mr Shurley?"

Chuck waved him in and indicated the chair in front of his desk, "Oh please Dean, when last did you even call me that! Sit, we need to discuss matters."

Dean took his seat and before Chuck could say any more, he spoke, "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I know we were late and then that presentation was a bust and I totally understand if you wanna fire me but-"

Chuck held up a hand to silence Dean, "I'm not going to fire you Dean. None of that was your fault and besides, you've been holding this magazine together for these past few years, dragging us out of the deep end when we most needed it… that's why I've called you in here."

Chuck looked down at his desk in contemplation before he said, "When Balthazar and I left the meeting earlier, he made me aware of the fact that the next issue of the magazine could be our last and I mean we knew that it might be coming, but so soon?" he dragged a hand down his face. "This Chevy Anniversary edition was supposed to put us back on the map you know- cover their legacy, get a mention at their party and possibly even strike an exclusive deal with regards to content…"

So what if this was technically all new and bizarre to Dean, he still felt sorry for this man in front of him and if Dean had been working his ass off for the past few years helping this magazine stay afloat, that meant that a part of him was also ingrained in this place and he couldn't do nothing about that now, that just wasn't like him.

"Chuck, is there something we can do about this?"

The other man shrugged, "Balthazar things that there's someone on the inside leaking all our scoops to _The Sound of Speed_. I am inclined to agree but we don't know who it is. I mean Mick just fired Alfie but there was still a leak." Chuck shook his head, "For six months now, we have the scoop on the 10 ways to enhance your cars performance and _they_ have 11, we have an interview with an engineer at Mercedes and they get the CEO… it can't go on."

"Tell me what to do man…" Dean really wanted to help.

"You and Mick need to come up with an idea that we can feature in next months' issue. It'll be out days before the party so it needs to cause a stir, it needs to be unique and it needs to be under wraps. No one else should even know that you two are still working on a Chevy feature. After this debacle I would expect them to think that we've given up so it should stay that way. Can you do that for me Dean?"

Deans' mind was racing. How on earth can he come up with something like that? But he nodded anyway.

"You can count on me, sir."

Xxx

He had almost forgotten about asking Arlene for Castiels' details in his haste to get back to his office but when she entered minutes later with an address, he could think of nothing else.

"He doesn't seem to be living with his parents anymore but they did give me his address which is only a few blocks away from here so I thought it might be useful."

Dean beamed at her and said, "Oh man, Arlene, you're frikken awesome!" which got him a 100 watt smile.

Arlene was a woman who looked to be in her mid-40's; she had a beautiful smile that reminded him so much of his moms'- his heart tugged painfully in that moment but he chose to ignore it- and she looked so awfully burdened by everyone elses problems and workloads, not to mention she seemed under-appreciated, another thing that made him feel awful because his parents definitely didn't bring him up to treat people badly.

He rounded his desk, already set on his new mission of finding Cas but before that he said to the woman, "You're definitely getting a box of chocolates on my way back."

Xxx

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to power walk 3 blocks in the uncomfortable dress shoes that he wore but it was worth it when he finally reached the apartment building and saw 'Castiel Novak' written above the buzzer that said 4.

He rang once and an unexpectedly gruff voice reached his ears along with a lot of static.

"Yes, hello?"

"Cas!"

"Yes, who is this?"

Dean swallowed, "It's me, it's Dean. Man I'm glad it's you. Everything has been so odd today and I really need you to tell me I'm not crazy."

There was crackling over the speaker and then the voice said, "Look, I didn't get half of that so if you're here about the décor then ring twice otherwise I'm not interested."

Dean frowned at the row of buzzers for a second before he rang twice on number 4. The door opened with a click.

Xxx

He had no idea what he was going to say to Cas but he just needed to see the guy for one. He needed reassurance so he knocked without preamble once he reached the door.

The door opened just a crack and Dean could make out a man in slacks who was just buttoning up his shirt. The mans' head tilted in confusion, "You're not my décor guy…"

"Cas?" Dean gasped audibly because holy shit, Cas looked like he walked out of a dream.

The guys' eyes were blue as ever but now on a face that Dean only just barely recognized. Was that a five o clock shadow? And that little glimpse of tanned torso that Dean had caught suggested that Cas had been working out.

Again he asked himself, what the hell was happening?

"Uhm, can I help you?"

Dean held his hands out to the side as if to say 'its me'.

"Cas, buddy… you're all grown up too? How crazy is this man!"

"Dean? Dean Winchester?" now Cas squinted slightly as he tilted his head.

"Yeah man, who else? Aren't you gonna let me in?"

The door shut for a few seconds as Dean assumed Cas was removing the chain holding the door secure.

When it reopened, Cas stepped to the side to allow Dean entrance.

Dean looked around unabashedly as Cas shut the door again and spoke, "So I don't mean to be rude but this is unexpected. What are you doing here Dean?"

Dean turned around to face Cas, "What? You're telling me your best friend can't drop in whenever he feels like?"

Cas was about to answer when Dean spoke again.

"Hey, wait you don't seem as shocked by all this suddenly grown up crap as I expected," he narrowed his eyes, "Cas, what did you do yesterday?"

The change of subject seemed to throw the other man off for a bit before he said, "I don't see how that's relevant-"

"No, no," Dean interrupted, "It is relevant, because if you don't remember being anywhere other than at my 15th birthday party yesterday then I'm screwed in this bizarro-world all by myself."

Cas seemed to regard Dean for a moment, "Dean, are you drunk?"

"What? No!" why was everyone assuming that?

"You been trying out drugs? Are you high right now?" Cas continued his questions.

"No to all of the above. Cas, I'm being serious."

"Are you having a mid-life crisis?" Cas tried one more time.

Dean flung his hands out to the side, "My best friend can't even take me seriously, who do I even have in this world?" he sighed dramatically as he looked at Cas.

Cas stepped closer to him and then took a step backwards. He looked like he was approaching a skittish animal and Dean was about to comment on it when Cas stunned him with his next words.

"Dean, I don't know what's going on but we haven't been best friends for 15 years, we never saw each other after high school was over."

Something, like a weird energy or all of his hope or whatever it was seemed like it drained out of him in that moment.

All he could do was sink down on the couch and stare at Cas.

He and Cas weren't best friends? They were basically strangers.

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	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Hey everyone! I know that it's been a while and that updates are slow but I'm extremely busy and I'd rather hold off writing than give you all rushed, half-assed chapters to read._

 _On that note, I couldn't stop myself from writing this chapter. It's very short but I needed to end it where I did otherwise it wouldn't have flowed the way I wanted it to. This is all from Castiels' POV in this chapter._

 _And lastly, thank you to everyone who is reading this story! Your kudos and especially the lovely comments motivate me to continue writing._

 _So please don't forget to leave me some feedback at the end!_

 _Enjoy! xoxo_

* * *

Castiel stared at Dean.

Dean Winchester, his former best friend, who was having something like a panic attack on his living room couch.

Castiel decided that he could suss out the details and reasoning later, for now he had to get Dean to control himself.

Castiel stepped in front of Dean and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Dean, I need you to look at me," Deans' eyes found Castiels', "Good, now just take deep breaths for me. Look, I'll breathe with you."

He made of show of breathing in deeply through his nose and then slowly letting the air out through his mouth.

Dean watched him for a beat, his breathing still shallow and panicked but when Castiel squeezed his shoulder lightly, he seemed to snap out of his daze. He followed Castiels' actions while still holding eye contact.

"Great Dean, just like that. In through the nose and out through the mouth," urged Castiel, "Keep doing that while I go grab you a glass of water. Okay?"

He waited for Dean to nod his assent before leaving the room.

Xxx

There was no single word to describe what was suddenly going on in Castiels' head.

How could Dean possibly be in his home after 15 years of not hearing from the man? After everything that had happened between them, after Dean basically disowned Castiel, after his best friend left him. How could Dean be here acting like he didn't remember any of it when after all these years Castiel could still feel his heart break when he thought of how Dean kicked him out.

Still deep in thought, he emerged into the living room once more but now Dean was standing up and looking at the pictures on the wall.

He looked up when Castiel entered the room and suddenly flushed red, "I'm sorry about that… it's just that I don't understand what's going on with me and I had hoped that we could figure this whole thing out together but clearly there's nothing wrong with this world, just something definitely wrong with me."

The look on Deans' face was so desolate that Castiel immediately wanted to soothe it away by telling Dean that he believed him and that they'll figure it all out but his personal feelings aside, any sane person would know that Dean was just sprouting nonsense and dismiss him. So Castiel just settled with handing him the water and saying, "You're probably just very stressed out Dean, there's nothing abnormal about that."

Dean huffed out a humourless laugh, "Yeah, probably."

Castiel could see that Dean didn't believe those words in the slightest but before he could comment, Dean spoke again.

"So you're a photographer, Cas?"

Whatever heaviness had developed in the air between them seemed to dissipate at Deans' light tone.

There was a genuine smile on Deans' face as well, that Castiel couldn't help but mirror. "It pays the bills."

This time, Deans' laugh was full of mirth, "Come on Cas, you know you were damn good at it back then and I'm sure you're even better now."

It was Castiels' turn to blush at the compliment while he watched Dean examine the rest of the work on his living room wall.

Having Dean smile and nod his approval at Castiels' work created such a delicate moment that Castiel felt his stomach flutter in pride.

But this wasn't something that was supposed to occur, he had left all of this, had left Dean in the past so he needed to take control of the situation before it all came crumbling down. Again…

"Dean, do you perhaps want me to walk you back to your apartment?"

A look of relief washed over Deans' face, "Yeah, I actually can't promise that I know the way back so it'll be nice. Thanks Cas."

Castiel tilted his head to the side as he regarded Dean, unable to tell whether Dean was making a joke or genuinely this confused about his surroundings but he led the way out of the door anyway. He didn't think he should bring it up if Dean was trying to use humour to cover up this oddity.

Xxx

"So you're telling me that for 15 years we just didn't talk, didn't even see each other?"

Dean had been asking questions from the moment they walked out of Castiels' apartment building and while Castiel still didn't understand why this was actually happening, he went along with it anyway.

"Yes, well I think I did see you through the coffee shop window once."

Dean stopped walking and stared at Castiel with an incredulous expression, "You realize how weird that sounds right?"

Castiel just rolled his eyes and kept walking, "Yes, because it isn't weird for a 30 year old man to think he's 15…"

Dean caught up and smacked Castiel lightly on the shoulder, "Who died and made you Sass Queen?"

Castiel smiled at that, he couldn't help himself because in that moment, it felt like nothing had changed. It felt like they were taking their usual stroll back home after school and Dean would constantly say things that made Castiel want to roll his eyes but also just laugh at the sheer idiocrasy of it all.

"So, this is me," said Dean gesturing to the building they were outside of and snapping Castiel out of his happy memories.

"Oh, yes sure…" he noticed that Dean looked just as undecided as Castiel felt, "I'll get going then. It was nice seeing you again, Dean."

Dean was still staring at Castiel as if he was fighting some internal battle so Castiel just gave a slight wave before turning and taking off in the direction they came from.

He was stopped in his tracks by Dean calling out to him.

"Cas! Do you maybe wanna come up?"

Castiel turned around slowly, "Dean, I don't think-"

"Aw please Cas," Castiel wondered if Dean knew that he had his puppy dog eyes in full effect, "I feel like maybe you could just catch me up on a few things. It's been so long and my brain is just," his hand gestures suggest some kind of explosion, "I'd like it if we could spend some time and hang out too."

Castiel sighed and nodded, he'd never really been immune to those eyes- no matter how much he said he was.

Xxx

Dean had a copy of the school yearbook laid out in front of him as well as various albums from his teenage years.

"Wait, so I was the football teams' star quarterback, I went to the Homecoming dance with Lisa Braedon and I got crowned Homecoming King?"

Castiel sat down on the couch across from Dean and just barely resisted rolling his eyes, "Yes Dean. You were the perfect high school celeb."

He earned a glare for that, "Hey, that was pretty important to me back then."

"And now?"

Dean took a deep breath, "Well I can't say that I know myself all too well now."

Castiel wondered whether Dean was referring to his apparent amnesia or if he was stating that he was unhappy with his life currently.

The phone rang before Castiel could reply and he couldn't deny that he was slightly relieved for the distraction.

Dean answered and listened for a while before saying, "Yeah? Oh no, I mean yes I will be ready at that time… great thanks."

When he hung up, Dean grinned widely and pumped a fist into the air. "I'm going to a frikken party in a limo, Cas!"

Castiel smiled at Dean and then stood up, "That's great Dean. Well it looks like you're back to your usual self so I'll leave you to it."

The smile fell from Deans' face, "What, you don't wanna go a party in a limo with me?"

"Dean I need to get back to work," reasoned Castiel as he opened the front door.

"I keep forgetting that we both have jobs now… it's kinda cool," Dean walked towards him, "Well the party isn't until late so maybe you can come by when you're done?"

"I'll think about it," Castiel gave Dean a smile as he turned to leave.

"So I'll see you later?" Dean then proceeded to shout out the venue as Castiel stepped into the elevator.

"Bye Dean."

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	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: It's a new chapter! So I've totes been dying on the inside since the announcement of SPN ending next year but the only good that came out of that pain was that my writing muse decided to show up again :-D_

 _So I hope you guys enjoy and just a side note, there's a flashback scene in this chapter that's written in italics so please do not get confused._

 _Also, I have a Tumblr now so come say hi to me and maybe even drop by to tell me what you think of this fic ( mishacollins-is-daddy)_

 _Please leave me a review, they fuel my soul xoxo_

* * *

Dean figured that if there was ever going to be an occasion to dress up, tonight was it; 'cause, freaking limousine man!

He opened the doors to his closet and had to do a double retake.

Who even needed that many suits man?

And of course it was a walk in closet, so Dean stepped inside.

There were suits hung up to his left, rows of shoes on display on his right and he was currently staring at himself on a full length mirror in front of him.

He opened up a few drawers; underwear, ties (more than two, what even?!), socks, cuff links, hair products (he was worse than Sammy), expensive cologne…

Dean let out a breath as he approached the suits; time to find something to wear.

Xxx

Dean smoothed down his tie as he gave himself one last look in the mirror.

He'd gone for the dark blue suit and left out the waistcoat. He didn't want to overkill the look.

His phone beeped signalling that his limo was waiting so he grabbed his jacket, wallet and keys before heading towards the elevators.

It was empty save for a boy who looked like he might be in his teens; Dean spared a moment to internally sigh at the fact that he remembered being that age less than 2 days ago.

The boy glanced at his suit and then said, "Fancy suit."

Dean looked down at himself with a smile and answered, "It's a fancy party."

There was only silence that greeted his response so a few seconds later he added, "I'm Dean."

"I know," more silence and then, "How come you're talking to me?"

Dean turned to the boy in surprise, "Do I not usually talk to you?"

The boy looked at him like he was crazy but replied anyway, "The last time my friends and I said hi to you, you handed us 20 dollars and told us to not bother you…"

"Oh," Dean stepped out the elevator but kept up pace with the boy, "Well I'm trying something new, it's called 'not being an asshole to the people around me'."

That brought a smile to the boys' face, "Well, I'm Jack. I hope that works out for you," he stopped and looked towards the street, "There's a limo out there and I assume it's for you."

Dean looked sheepish, "Yeah, I'd totally invite you but I guess the party is adults only…"

Jack smiled again, "That's alright. Maybe I'll see you around again, I mean we do live in the same building."

Then he turned and walked away, probably not even hearing Deans' "Bye, man."

Xxx

The limo ride was overwhelming. Mostly in the sense that he had to constantly hold himself back from over indulging in the wide selection of free alcohol. He'd never forgive himself if he missed his first grown up party due to his poor willpower.

But he did ask the driver to perform a few detours so he could ride in it longer.

He would firmly deny the fact that he stuck his head and half his body out of the sunroof- the weird stares from the pedestrians was worth it.

When he finally arrived at the venue, the guard at the entrance to the building had let him in immediately without even checking the guest-list.

Upon entering, he was offered a drink from a tray of multi-coloured monstrosities. He took one obviously; it was a week night and there was alcohol, there's no way he was gonna refuse!

There looked to be a good turnout, the place was packed- at least Chuck would be able to do some marketing in the guise of being social.

Dean tried to look around to see if he could spot anyone he knew but all he could see was a room of strangers so he gave up and headed towards the staircase, the crowd looked more thinned out upstairs and he needed a safe haven in case he was required to be social.

It's not that he wanted to spend the entire evening in isolation but he didn't want a repeat of that disastrous meeting in the boardroom.

Just as he took the first step, a hand caught his arm.

He turned and saw that it was Mick stopping him, "Hey man, thought I was at the wrong party for a minute. It's choked in here."

"That's what you get when you invite the entire motor vehicle industry to an event. Anyway, I happen to know that the bar is less of madhouse than the rest of this place," Mick looks pointedly at Deans' drink, "Care to join me for a real drink?"

Dean rolls his eyes, "It tastes fantastic okay." But he follows anyway as Mick leads him past the stairs and to the bar which is close to the stage.

He does a double take because the music coming off the stage is an absolute tragedy but he keep quiet about it as Mick orders them a whiskey each.

"So you finally get settled in after that epic hangover of yours?" asks Mick.

"I wasn't hungover and no, I'm still incredibly freaked out about my current life but I guess seeing an old friend sorta made me feel better."

Mick eyed him curiously, "You're not cheating on Lisa, are you?"

The dumbstruck look on Deans' face must have been hilarious to Mick seeing as he broke out into laughter, "Relax, it's not like this would have been the first time," he nudged Deans' shoulder as he winked at him, "And not the last time for that matter either. My guy is a go-getter, aren't you?"

Dean suddenly felt as if there was a pit in his stomach, "Wow Mick, you make me sound like a horrible person."

Their conversation was cut short when Chuck stepped up to them, "Hey guys, is that whiskey?" he gestured to Deans' glass before taking it and downing it in one go, "Wow, I needed that."

He handed the glass back to Dean, "Uh, you're welcome?"

"What's got you so stressed boss?" asked Mick.

Chuck leaned against the counter as he spoke, "They haven't given us any credit as yet. All I've heard throughout the night is _'The Sound of Speed'_ this and _'The Sound of Speed'_ that…"

He looked miserable so Dean tried to soothe him somewhat, "Well I mean the party just started didn't it?"

"The party is what's happening now, all of the special mentions happened earlier," he stops and looks at Dean, "You missed it? Did you get here late?"

"I was outta the building as soon as the limo got there," protested Dean.

"You got a limo!" Mick sounded exasperated, "Well someone is clearly trying to keep you happy."

He gave Chuck a look of disbelief as he walked away.

"What was that about?" asked Dean in confusion.

"Ignore him," said Chuck distractedly, "Look, people are even leaving. This is a disaster."

"Well maybe if the music was better people would actually stay to party."

Chuck looked offended, "The music is classy."

Dean sighed, "Look, I know that these are supposed to be rich people who own companies and shit but look at them," he gestured towards the crowd, "They're still car people man, and most of them don't even look as uptight as I imagined."

"Yeah, well the music is not even on my list of worries."

Before Dean can respond, a man in an expensive looking suit approached them.

Chuck groaned under his breath before turning to Dean, "Excuse me, I'd rather go smother myself than sit through this conversation."

Chucks' departure didn't seem to deter the man as he took Chucks' place next to Dean.

There wasn't anything that Dean could even think of saying besides 'Hi' but he imagined that would sound extremely lame so he stayed shut.

When the man spoke however, Dean wished that he'd stayed quiet as well.

"What a bust, isn't it, Winchester?"

"Excuse me?"

The man huffed a laugh before angling his body towards Dean, "It's cute how you try to be the best and I still show you up every single year… I mean look at tonight, not even a mention from the big deals of Chevy, yet you'll still walk out of here and try to upstage us in the next issue."

Deans' eyes narrowed, "You're from _'The Sound of Speed'_?"

"Oh this charade of yours wounds me darling, but the night doesn't have to be a total waste…"

His eyes travel suggestively down Deans' body but they snap back up when Dean exclaims, "Don't call me 'darling'."

Dean thanks his lucky stars when Mick arrives.

"What do you want, Ketch?"

Ketch, which is a weird name but whatever, turns to face Mick, "Well at least someone remembers my name." He looks at Dean again, "Well this is my cue to leave but come find me later about that offer," and he just walks away.

"What a slime ball, wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole," comments Mick but Deans' attention is elsewhere.

Suddenly Dean pipes up, "Hey, how mad do you think Chuck would be if I got up on that stage right now?"

Micks' eyes widened comically, "Are you insane? What do you want to go up there for?"

"I might have a way to liven up this party a bit."

"This isn't our party that you can just go up on stage and start doing magic tricks."

Dean scoffs, "Who said anything about magic, and I'm either gonna make Chuck a very happy man or I'm gonna get fired. I'll give it a shot."

Dean claps Mick on the back as he climbs up onto the stage. No one notices him, the guests all seemingly absorbed in their own conversations.

He approaches one of the guys from the band who's standing off to the side.

"Hey man, you think I could belt out a few numbers with the guys here?"

The man looks indecisive at first but then he says, "You know, they hire a rock band and then expect us to play this crap so I suppose it couldn't get worse. Whatcha wanna sing?"

Dean shrugs but shoots the guy a grin, "I don't know, maybe a little Kid Rock?"

"We talking 'All Summer Long'?" asks the man hopefully.

Deans' smile grows, "Yeah, we're talking 'All Summer Long'."

Dean always sang this song whenever Cas became sappy and started talking about the summer that they had met. It was a running joke between them where he called Cas his 'Summer Thing'.

The man nods and signals one of the band members before he leans closer to probably update the guys.

"Hey," interrupts Dean, "You mind if I say a few words while you guys get ready?"

The guy tosses Dean a microphone, "Knock yourself out."

Dean turns back towards the guests, a sudden lump in his throat.

What was he gonna do if this didn't work out? What if Chuck got angry and fired him? Or if the guests hated the new music.

He was also at a loss for words so he went for plain and simple.

Dean tapped the mic, sending a bit of feedback through the speakers getting the guests attention.

He spotted Mick right where he left him at the bar but he had an intense look of worry on his face.

"Uh, hey everyone," he was sure literally everyone turned to look at him, "So you guys probably don't know me but I'm Dean from _'Redefined'_ and I'm terribly sorry for crashing your peace here tonight but I just wanted to say that when I think cars and especially when I think Chevy, I think about fun and adventure and I automatically wanna turn the music up and just rock out to the best songs…"

He spotted Chuck by the railing on the upper level, looking down at him intently.

"So I thought, why not express that tonight," he was losing his nerve, he needed anything but the resounding silence that was greeting him from the crowd, "So uhm, I may not be the best singer but how about we all take this up a notch, all of you get on the dance floor and we just have a good ol' time?"

Silence.

He turned around and the guy he'd spoken to previously winced slightly but gave him a nod to go ahead anyway.

The music started, he closed his eyes, he let the music flow through him, he started singing, blocking the crowd out for a while and just pretended that he was back home in the basement; playing his guitar while Cas drummed on the table. Singing with his voice cracking awkwardly at the high notes while Cas laughed uncontrollably.

Before he knew it, he was moving his body to the music, he was smiling, he was actually having fun.

He looked at the crowd; a few people had come closer to the stage and where swaying around to the music but he was most grateful for the fact that the majority of the crowd seemed to be having a good time- even if they weren't dancing around, they were still focussed on him, smiling and looking a lot happier and entertained than they seemed earlier.

After a while he started to feel like he could possibly do this for the rest of the night. He never really sang in front of anyone except for Cas and that was mostly because he didn't know how to say no to Cas but he kinda felt free right now, like he could be himself and just let go- a feeling he usually felt when he was around his family and Cas.

The song was nearing its end and he was already thinking about what to sing next when he looked up and spotted a familiar face amongst the guests.

Castiel looked up at him from the sea of guests; he was tucked away against a wall to the side but Deans' eyes never left Cas as he belted out the last few lines of the song.

The crowd, even the ones that weren't dancing, all broke into applause and cheers as the music died down. Some had their hands raised up and Dean lost sight of Cas right before the man he'd spoken to earlier approached him.

They spoke for a while as Dean explained that he couldn't stay on stage for longer but the guys promised him that they'd keep up the vibe and continue to play upbeat music.

He jumped off the stage and spotted Cas once more. Dean made a beeline for the other man but was intercepted by Chuck.

"Dean! Dean, that was amazing!"

"So I'm not fired?" joked Dean absently as he checked to see if Cas was still there over Chucks' shoulder.

Chucks' face scrunched up, "Why do you always assume you're going to be fired?"

Dean shrugged and tried to slowly inch away, "Look Chuck, I did that for you. The magazine might not have got the mention you were hoping for but hopefully this is enough for now," he backtracked slowly as he spoke to Chuck, "And I promise that I'll do everything in my power to get our mag back on top but I really need to go right now."

And with that, Dean turned his back to Chuck and marched over to Cas who was thankfully still in the same spot as earlier.

"Cas, you came!"

Cas smiled, a small one but still a smile, "Yes I did," he paused for a moment, then, "I can't believe you put me on the guest-list for tonight."

Dean grinned, infinitely proud of himself, "Yeah well I had high hopes that you'd show up so I called Chuck after you left my place and organized it- didn't want you facing any trouble getting in."

This time Cas shook his head and smiled widely at Dean, "What's a guy gotta do to get a drink around here?"

Dean huffed out a laugh and placed his hand on Cas' elbow, leaning in slightly, "He would follow his best friend to the bar where said friend could get him a drink."

Dean noticed a bit of tension on Cas' face when he said 'best friend' but chose to ignore it as he led the other man to the other side of the room.

"So, what's it gonna be?"

"Just a beer is fine for me," answered Cas.

Dean ordered one for himself as well and then settled in the seat next to Cas.

There was a beat of silence as they watched the people around them before Cas spoke, "You were great up there by the way."

Dean looked at Cas, "Yeah? How much did you see?"

"Enough to know that you were having fun," he seemed to hesitate before saying, "You always did love singing, I'm glad that you're not hiding that talent anymore."

Dean just smiled, at a loss for something to say. He fondly remembered singing for Cas but it seemed like the memory was actually painful for Cas and while he wondered exactly what had happened between them, he didn't think this was the place to bring it all up.

Instead, Dean just settled for sipping his beer, grateful that Cas was even actually there beside him.

They lapsed into small talk, not quite awkward but which mostly consisted of Dean telling Cas all about this 'new' life he had and about all of the things he'd discovered about his current life.

Cas listened intently, more focussed on the conversation than Dean would expect anyone to be when he was going on about how many suits he actually owned but still, Cas listened so Dean went on.

Just as they were finishing up their drinks, a young woman walked to Dean.

"Hey, I'm Anna and I'm sorry to bother you but my husband and I loved your voice earlier and we were wondering if you'd take a song request?"

Dean, although happy for the compliment, didn't wanna spend any time away from Cas now that he got to hang out with him. Anna seemed to see it in his face because she added, "Just one, please?"

"Go on, Dean. It's just one song," urged Cas.

Dean sighed but nodded, "Alright, what song is it?"

Anna grinned before saying, "Purple Rain."

He felt Cas stiffen slightly next to him but when he looked, Cas was smiling.

"Okay," agreed Dean, "I'll get on after the next song."

"Thank you so much, Dean," said Anna before walking back into the crowd.

Dean slouched back against the counter, not even looking at Cas. He was already deep in his thoughts…

xxx

"' _Purple Rain', it's such a weird concept to think about…" Cas looked thoughtful as Dean left his guitar beside the couch and sat next to Cas._

" _Why is weird?" asked Dean._

 _Cas looked at Dean funny then said, "Because what even is purple rain, Dean?"_

 _Dean laughed, "It's just a song, Cas."_

 _Cas scowled at Dean, "You're the one who always says that every song has a meaning… So what do you think of this one? What does it mean?"_

 _Dean shrugged, "A song means whatever you interpret it to mean- that's not always the same as what everyone thinks."_

 _At Cas' glare, Dean sighed and let his head rest against the couch, eyes closed, "So I think it's a love song, a love song to a best friend- one who is loved by him very dearly. But he doesn't want to hurt his friend, doesn't wanna make him sad so he chooses friendship… he knows that he'd lose him if he chose anything else and besides, one day when the world is ending, when the red of destruction meets the blue of the sky and the purple rain is showering down on the world- he only wants his best friend by his side, his love being a sacrifice for an eternal friendship."_

 _There's silence for a while before Dean opens his eyes and turns to look at Cas who has an expression of awe on his face. Their eyes lock and they just sit in the quiet of the moment for a while longer._

 _When Cas speaks, his voice is quiet like he's scared to disrupt the moment, "So, do you have some other secret best friend that you're madly in love with that I don't know about?"_

 _Dean chuckles as he shifts in his seat to face Cas better, "You're my only best friend Cas and you, no we're perfect," he shakes his head slightly as he continues, "we put so much of emphasis on finding the one and living happily ever after but love is a passion and friendship is peace… I'll always choose you, Cas."_

Xxx

The song on stage ends and the audience applauds, jarring Cas out of his thoughts.

He looks at Dean and wonders if the zoned out look on his face is because he was lost in the same memory.

The girl that Dean had spoken to earlier seems to be making her way back and Cas remembers that Dean is supposed to go up on stage and sing. He places a hand on Deans' shoulder and shakes him slightly.

Dean snaps out of it suddenly, "Huh?"

"You're supposed to sing," says Cas just as Anna reaches them and says, "Hey again, Dean."

Dean seems to shake himself to awareness a bit more, "Hey, yeah Anna, I'll be right up."

"I told the band that you'll be up next," she adds.

Dean nods, "Yeah, gimme a few seconds, will you?"

It was pretty dismissive but Anna still has a smile on her face as she walks away.

"Are you okay Dean?" asks Cas.

"Yeah man, I just got so lost in my own head… I'm good though," he stood up, "Should probably go sing that song before Anna gets mad," he look a bit uncertain, "I'll be right back okay? You'll be here right?"

A part of Cas really didn't want to leave but he couldn't sit through this, "I actually need to get going," at Deans' crestfallen look, he added, "I have work tomorrow and it's pretty late."

Dean nodded, "Yeah okay- but I'll see you around…"

It sounded like a question and it tugged at Cas' heart, "Yeah," he agreed as he got up to leave.

He heard the crowd go wild and assumed that Dean was on stage as he made his way to the doors.

Dean started singing and the last words he heard as he exited was _"I never meant to cause you any sorrow, I never meant to cause you any pain…"_

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